Nonfiction Monday: Dinosaur Look-Alikes by Buffy Silverman

9781467713566

 

9781467713603

 

I don't have to tell anyone that dinosaur books are popular, right? When I run a weeding list, and there is anything at 567.9 that has not checked out in the last 6 months, I automatically know it's lost.We are continually buying dinosaur books to replace those that wear out, and while I know kids will pick up virtually anything on the subject, it's nice to find something with a little bit 'more'.

 

This series may be just as popular with the adults trying to keep up with the inquisitive little minds in their lives. After a certain point, you can't get away with calling them all "long-necks" or "three-horns"! Each of these six books starts off with a description of a particular group - raptors or sauropods, for example - and gives a few commonalities. From there, we get some simple ways to tell the two featured dinosaurs apart. What I really liked is that each detail includes a "why" - brachiosaurus's front legs were longer, and it held its head upwards, so it could eat plants that were much higher up. A comparison is drawn to giraffes, and how they eat. Lots of critical thinking skills, here!

 

I appreciated that Silverman was not afraid to say occasionally, "scientists do not know...but many think...". It is good for kids to realize that there are still discoveries to be made (perhaps by them!), and to have the chance to discuss the evidence one way or another.

 

The books are chock full of photographs (of skeletons, of course) and colorful drawings (with a little bit of blood and guts to keep certain young men happy). Side-by-side diagrams at the end help sum up the similarities and differences.

 

Overall, a solid addition to any library or home collection - and who couldn't use more dino books? Thank-you to Lerner for the review copies!

Nonfiction Monday: Pope Francis, First Pope from the Americas by Stephanie Watson

9781467721769

 

 

I remember when I first realized that TV networks often have 'specials' worked up about famous people to be aired in the event of their death, long before that actually happens. While it makes good business sense, I felt gypped somehow.

 

Somewhat similarly, when there is a new face in the news, you see a scramble to be the first book publisher to come out with a biography. Sometimes astute publishers and authors have had an inkling that an individual's time was coming - at other times, you can see it came down to grabbing any accessible information and putting it into print in time to beat a deadline.

 

This biography, published about 8 months after Pope Frances started making the headlines, leans toward the latter. Anyone who has had half an eye on news stories will not learn anything new about this very popular leader. The text, while mostly flowing and accessible, does seem rushed in places. It also shows a bit of whitewashing that I would hope we are getting away from in children's books - the accusations related to Argentina's "dirty war", for example, are mentioned, but quickly dismissed.

 

For children who are not as familiar with Pope Francis's childhood and history, or the surprising changes he made beginning from his very first day, this would be a good introduction. It will also likely be popular with those who are just plain fans of his. Worth adding to a collection, but if you have limited funds, you may want to wait on one with more meat to it.

Goldilocks and the Three Brothers

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.

Well, that wasn’t really her name, but look at these curls!

 

Goldilocks had three crazy brothers:

Christopher

Logan

And Baby Shane. (Baby Shane wasn’t born yet).

They were always getting into trouble, and Goldilocks was always having to rescue them!

One time, Christopher was attacked by evil villains.

 

 

Goldilocks captured them all, and made Christopher a bacon sandwich so he would feel all better.

 

Another time, Logan got wrapped up by a giant spider.

 

Goldilocks set him free, and made him a bacon sandwich.

 

When it was time for Baby Shane to be born, he had to stay in the hospital for a little while.

Everyone was sad, because they wanted him to come home.

So, guess what Goldilocks did?

That’s right! His very first bacon sandwich.

 

And, it worked – Baby Shane got to come home, so everybody could help Goldilocks look out for him.

 

But, a sister’s work is never done, so Goldilocks knew to keep plenty of bacon on hand!

 

Things That are Vastly Under-Appreciated

Eating without heartburn.

 

Being able to sit without pain.

 

Being able to stand without pain.

 

Being able to move from one of those to the other without having a planning session first!

 

Being able to look down and see your entire body.

 

Being able to wash dishes without standing sideways at the sink.

 

Being able to bend down and pick something up, without giving it a second thought.

 

Being able to carry anything heavier than a coffee cup.

 

Coffee.

 

Sleeping in whatever position you want, not just whatever position your body will go into.

 

Going to bed because you are getting tired, or because of the time, not because you can't stay upright any more.

 

Fitting behind the steering wheel of your car.

*I left out several bathroom-related thoughts. You are welcome.

 



Nonfiction Monday: Military Special Ops series from Lerner

9780761390800

 

While military operations are not on my top ten list of most exciting topics, they sure rank highly with many of my patrons. I'm always looking for a new series to point them to that will have the right balance of information and readability.

 

For this series I read the above title about Navy Seals, and this one about the U.S. Air Commandos:

 

9780761390817

 

The tiny print may scare some kids away, and the reading level (about 5th grade) will keep me searching for something for the younger crowd, but for older readers I think these will do the trick. Both books held my interest, and I learned quite a bit with each - although in some cases, it was because I was curious enough to do some internet searching (I really would have liked to see a picture of the bone phones.) I think I will add these two to the collection and see how they do before deciding whether to add the rest of the series.

 

Thank-you to Lerner for the review copies!



Shane Michael What Cat Nanny-Nanny-Boo-Boo Hello Kitty Duck Butterfly Flower Jack John Jones...

...has a slightly longish name.

...has spiky black hair like C.

...likes to hold a mouthful of food like L.

...enjoys farting on us, like S.

...stares around at the world with a serious expression, like M. did.

...has Mommy's nose.

...has Daddy's cowlick.

...does not bestow smiles easily, but smirks when he knows he has won.

...is the only child I have had that LIKES to be swaddled.

...does not expect to have to work for anything. Or wait.

...has a natural Mohawk. What is up with THAT?

...has already peed on Daddy once.

...has dark blue eyes at the moment, which, if they stay, are going to be a killer combo with that hair!

...never belches less than a "six".

...cries when Mommy sings to him.

...gets an adorable chin-quiver when he is hungry.

...has an eye-roll worthy of any teenage girl.

...is perfect. And...

...home!

And to all a good night:)

Definitely My Son!

(Warning - contains some icky birth stuff!)

 

Well, a very stressful and disappointing Tuesday ended, at least, with a good Christmas program. We got up Wednesday morning and headed towards Albuquerque (as someone else pointed out, very pregnant lady on the road to a distant land, not knowing where she would spend the night, at Christmas time - nothing holy about this group, though!) We had a consult with a doctor at Presbyterian right after lunch, and one at UNM shortly after that. Liked the first guy, second one lost our appointment. Pres it is! Not that there was really any question by this time, after all their other screw-ups.

 

Of course, this meant a lot of scurrying for Pres staff, but they managed to have the NICU and cardio teams ready for me to have my C-section at 11:30 the next day (Thursday). Mike and I got checked into a room and found a place to eat. I had to force myself to chew and swallow, because I knew I should at least get my iron up, but I really just wanted to curl up on the booth and go to sleep! I was in a lot of pain after the 4 hour car ride, my blood pressure was high for the first time in my life (can't imagine why), and I was just plain exhausted. The doctor had tried to talk me into staying in ABQ for a week and having the baby after Christmas, and I could barely hold back the tears. I was DONE!

 

Quick phone call with the kids, then into bed. Where I listened to the lady in the next room talk on the phone. All. Night. Long.

 

So, not really rested, but excited, we got out of there the next morning as soon as possible - way before our scheduled arrival - and stopped at a Walmart for a few things we needed. The cashier asked me when the baby was due, and I don't think she quite believed me when I said "In 3 hours". In due time, however, I was on a bed in Labor and Delivery, chatting with the nice nurses who knew off the top of their heads that S. was 8 pounds 10 ounces at birth, and who were generally more on the ball than anyone we had talked to at UNM.

 

About 30 minutes from C-section time, the nurse and I both noticed a change in one of the beeping monitors. This was the one that checked for cord compressions, and for a few seconds, it registered one. She frowned, but then smiled again when it stopped. "You could have had a contraction, or he could have grabbed the cord himself."

 

"It did just feel like he was rolling over," I said.

"That could have been it."

"Right. It couldn't have been a contraction, because I'm not actually due until...ow!"

 

Yes, folks, within the next few minutes, it became obvious that I WAS IN LABOR. Not Braxton Hicks, the real deal. That didn't change the C-section any, just reminded us once again that this baby is going to do things his own way, and in his own time - not to mention reinforcing my decision not to wait a week!

 

Of course, being my son, he decided to make the C-section a little more difficult by wedging his big old head behind my pelvic bones. I couldn't see past the drop cloth, but the solution seemed to be placing a very heavy baby elephant on my sternum and having him jump up and down. OW! He finally popped out, though, I got a quick flash of dark hair, and the baby (mine, not the elephant's) was whisked off to the NICU (I have no idea where the elephant's baby was taken - don't care, just so long as he was off my sternum!)

 

Then I started throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. I always throw up right after, but then I'm fine. Not so, this time. I got to see him briefly, on the way to my room:

See how I'm holding his sweet little hand? He immediately yanked it away and wedged it behind his head, so I couldn't take it back. Definitely my son.

What a chunker! 7 lbs 13 oz at two weeks early.

Initial reports from the NICU were good, and Daddy got to see and hold him, but I literally could not move without throwing up. It was a pretty miserable night. Finally, after 5 doses of Zofran did nothing, they switched to something else. Relief! And now I was dying to see and feed my baby. But first I had to wait through my check-up. And then the NICU closed for rounds. I was waiting at the door when they reopened, and finally...

Bliss! He refused to nurse, so we just got lots of bonding time in, before I HAD to go get something to eat. 36 hours without food can make you a mite hungry, and I think I scared the guy who delivered it with how fast I inhaled the bacon (sorry about your hand, dude, but don't move so slowly next time. I think they can reattach that finger.)

As I said, initial reports are much better than we expected. UNM was leaning heavily towards him needing surgery, but the initial echo here is indicating very minor constriction. We have to wait until the ductus arteriosis closes in order to know for sure, but hopefully that will happen over the next few days. We still have hope we will all be home for Christmas! Thank-you so much to all those who have been praying, I know that has made the difference.